Roosters???

[beckylou]

My RIR roo is about 2 yrs old and our Big Boy Rock AKA Papi bullies him so we put our RIR in with our 10 week old hens and so far he is doing great we let them all out to forge together and he protected the littles from then big hens but today while watering and feeding I heard the littles making a lot of racket only to find him trying to mate in which they ran like crazy and had a cow.. I've read that older Roos won't bother littles until they reach sexual maturity but at 10 weeks I find that highly unlikely... Any suggestions?? And should I move him? I don't want him to hurt the littles...

 

[cnicho05]

Hello,

This can be a common problem for most roosters as they don't typically get along well with one another...especially when hens are around.

When you moved your rooster into a flock of young hens you opened the door for him to mate. It is not uncommon for roosters to successfully or unsuccessfully attempt to mate with young hens. They simply don't recognize the development these younger hens are undergoing.

To resolve this problem I would recommend you isolate your rooster or roosters in another run fenced away from the hens. I've seen and heard of young hens getting hurt from roosters wanting to get a little friendly. Furthermore, you don't always want your hens around a rooster when looking at egg production.

Just remember, if you isolate your roosters make sure they are not fenced into the same area as they will fight to see who is more dominant.

Hope this helps...